Q&A

Carlyn Christianson

Fresh from a win in the San Luis Obispo City Council special election, Carlyn Christianson met with us one afternoon recently to dish on everything from local land use issues to the current state of her love life...

Congratulations on your win, Carlyn. Does that make you one-for-one, undefeated?

I’m actually one-for-two. I ran for Cuesta College Board of Trustees in 1996 and lost. I learned back then that I really don’t like campaigning—I don’t. I’m very happy with the outcome of the recent election, of course. Very honored. I still don’t like campaigning. But, doing a job well and working hard are not always the same as liking something.

You’ve been active in local land use issues for years. How did you get involved?

I was working for Planned Parenthood and found that the workers there couldn’t find places to live. And I began to find also that those that could, were unable to afford health care because their housing costs were so high. But, in order to balance the open spaces that we all cherish with affordable housing, I found that you have to build in the city. That means smart growth and really good urban design. That means going up and going smaller. Mixed use and granny units. There are all kinds of things that can be done to incrementally add housing units. It doesn’t solve the problem, but it starts to help. And Cal Poly has been getting a lot better about building on-campus housing for its students.

Okay, that makes sense. Let’s talk about your childhood.

We moved a lot. I lived in Japan for nearly a year in 1963 and I lived in Germany for a year in 1961 as a first grader. And, then I lived in Germany again for a couple of years in junior high school, sixth and seventh grade. My dad was a nuclear engineer for General Electric. He helped build nuclear power plants. We lived all over the place, but San Jose was our home base.

What about college?

I started at UC Santa Cruz but it was just too touchy-feely for me, so I transferred to Davis where I created my own major called Women in American Society. I was one of the first Women’s Studies majors in the UC System. I then went to Hastings Law School in San Francisco and when I graduated—much to my parents’ horror—I moved to Telluride, Colorado to become a ski bum even though I don’t ski because I’m afraid of heights! [laughter] I had gone to see a total solar eclipse in the Winter of ’79 in the mountains of Montana. I had never been to the Rockies before. I had been to the Alps but it was just stunning, I just loved them. I love the mountains.

Speaking of mountains, are the problems we face today just too big to solve?

This is the way I look at it: depending on the problem, there isn’t a final “one-stop-shop” solution. But, there’s always something you can work on. Any issues that are big—like air quality, homelessness, housing— just because it may be seen as a big, huge issue that’s never going to get solved, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do something about it and do whatever you can do. That’s my philosophy. It’s tempting to go, “Ahhhhh, we can’t do anything about it!” But really, the older you get and the more you do this stuff, the more you realize that, you know, if we just keep plugging away you do get somewhere that is different than where you were before. And, so you have to just keep trying.

We’ve heard that you are a regular at the Yoga Centre.

That is true. When Jeff, my partner, died unexpectedly in late-2010 that was a very hard time for me, obviously. I started going to yoga to have a physical activity. I couldn’t run anymore because of my knees, so I chose yoga not only for that reason—I like doing it because it is very good for you physically—but, also it’s very good for calming and centering. I like the group. It was nice to make new friends. So, the whole thing was very appealing to me. I’m just someone that thinks very clearly after physical exercise and yoga has become a spiritually and emotionally satisfying thing for me, as well.

What don’t we know about you? Come on, Carlyn, give us something good!

Hmm… that’s a tough question. I really can’t think of anything else. I’m pretty much an open book after the campaign. But, oh, okay, here’s something for you... if there’s anybody out there that wants to go out on a date, I’m a very strongminded but fun person! [laughter] My friends keep telling me that I need to mention that I’m single whenever I am interviewed so that all of you in the press can help get the word out for me. So there you go, there’s your scoop!